


Ghosted

by andtheny



Series: Phantom Pain [3]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Danny Fenton, Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom as separate entities, F/M, Phantom/Sam, Unresolved Romantic Tension, lowkey pining, minor pitch pearl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-06-25 18:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19751212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andtheny/pseuds/andtheny
Summary: Invisibility had been the easiest power, at first. It had been automatic. Whenever he didn't feel safe. Or if he was uncomfortable, really.Then it had seemed like the hardest power to control. He couldn't turn it off if he was embarrassed, for instance. Even if he was with Fenton and wanted to be seen. He'd just be stuck invisible.Phantom had a comfortable handle on all his powers now though.Or so he'd thought.Then a group of college kids slipped on the ice that had spread around him as Phantom had sat in the park, curled up and miserable.





	1. Chapter 1

At first she thought it was stupid that her mom wanted to buy her a dress for the dance. She assumed it would be a horrific thing, pink and frilly, and that she’d have to douse it in black paint. Then hope the material didn’t stiffen. 

Not that Sam wanted to go the dance in the first place. What was a school dance anyway, but a strange ritual designed to pit teenagers against each other? Comparing clothes, comparing dates, and scrutinizing each other as they shook their butts around like monkeys looking for a mate. No thank you. 

But her mom found a store online that was Sam’s style. She scrolled through the website and was charmed by the selection. Not everything was black, but it all had this cool Victorian vibe. At least that’s what she thought at first, but then she kept looking and realized the dresses were a hodgepodge of different time periods. 

Some of the dresses looked like they belonged on a doll at a tea party. Sam understood where her mother had found the appeal. Yet there were options for punk or goth dresses that looked badass. It was a Japanese style, the website said, called Gothic Lolita. 

When Sam pointed at her favorite dress, a massive bundle of black and purple silk laid over a hoop skirt the size of a small bus, she expected her mom to say no.

Her mom surprised her though. She said she was just happy to see her Sammykins finally take an interest in something _feminine._

“You’ll look wonderful!” she said, clapping her hands. “Now all you need is a date.” 

At lunch the next day Sam was still fuming over the assumption that she needed a date to have a good time at a school dance. How sexist! How archaic! 

Tucker was telling them about the list of girls he was asking while they grabbed their lunch trays. As they headed towards their table Danny was laughing at Tucker’s impression of his latest rejection, looking back towards him to say something. 

He didn’t notice Paulina standing in his path until it was too late. 

“Excuse me,” he told her. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.” He’d managed to save his tray from falling, but he dropped his applesauce. It landed on her foot, the lid ajar.

“Ew!” she shrieked. “These are my favorite shoes!” she whined. Sam rolled her eyes. 

What a drama queen. 

Danny handed his tray to Tucker and knelt down to pick up the cup of applesauce. “Sorry,” he said with a shrug. “Let me get that.” 

Sam blinked as, in one smooth motion, Danny knelt and picked up the cup. He used his hand to scoop as much of the sauce off Paulina’s shoe as he could. Then he wiped the residue off with the edge of his shirt and shrugged again. “Best I can do.” 

Paulina stared at him, flabbergasted. Sam was equally baffled. Since when had Danny ever been able to deal with the cheerleader in such a nonchalant way? 

Danny stood and took his tray back from Tucker, who was staring at him with his mouth hanging open. If Danny noticed the reaction, he didn’t say anything. He just walked off towards their usual table. Sam and Tucker exchanged a _what the hell_ look and then followed after him.

As soon as they sat down Tucker clapped Danny on the back. “Dude! You’re my hero!”

“What?” Danny was frowning at his soiled applesauce. “Why.” 

Tucker sputtered. “You just- you just,” he turned to Sam. “Tell him what he did!” 

She sighed. “You talked to Paulina Sanchez as if she weren’t _Paulina. Sanchez.”_ Sam could tell by the look on his face that the name meant nothing to him and she felt her throat tighten. She tried to swallow the feeling. Baring her teeth in what was meant to be a casual smirk, but what was probably a manic grin, Sam chuckled. 

It was ironic. A year ago she would have killed to see something like this. But now…

It only reminded her of what had been lost. 

“I mean you’ve only been in love with her since the sixth grade,” Tucker said. “I’ve never seen you talk to her without stuttering or tripping over yourself! But now you just, you just-”

Danny was tugging at the hairs at the base of his neck, eyes still on his applesauce. Sam knew this meant he was uncomfortable. Or she thought it did. It used to. What did it mean now? She couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. 

“Anyway, congratulations dude,” Tucker said. If he picked up on their discomfort he didn’t show it. “That was so cool. I bet she’ll be impressed at your confidence. Hey, maybe you could even ask her to the dance. Danny, you have to ask her. I dare you.” 

“Confidence,” Danny echoed. “Is that what that was?”

She didn’t like seeing this look on his face. He looked frustrated. Lost. He was biting the skin off of his bottom lip and staring at his food with no clear intention of eating. She watched the scabs on his lip, which had just healed, begin to bleed again and wanted to say something.

Before she could think of anything Dash had slammed his own lunch tray onto the table. She jumped, startled, and Danny almost fell out of his seat. 

“Who do you think you are Fentina? Assaulting girls with applesauce?” Dash said. He stood with one foot propped up on the bench beside Danny, his knee bent, his elbow leaning against it. He was tilted toward Danny, smirking. “You know I can’t let you get away with that.” 

Danny rolled his eyes. “As if you need an excuse to come harass me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dash said. He leaned further into Danny’s space.

“Jesus Dash,” Sam began. She started unbuckling the straps from one of her boots. They were heavy enough to bruise and the threat usually kept Dash from getting physical.

“It means you’re obsessed with me,” Danny said. “Why don’t you get a life?” 

Sam paused with her boot in her hands. Dash too, could only stare at Danny in silence. Tucker, on the other hand, was laughing hysterically. He gave Danny a high five. 

“What,” Dash said. “Your parents get a little credit for some cool gadgets and suddenly you think you’re the big man on campus? You’re still a bunch of _freaks_ you know that?” 

“Do you rock yourself to sleep with a collection of my pictures cut out of yearbooks?” Danny said. “Or do you photograph me yourself after sticking your leg out to trip me in class?” 

Dash sputtered, his face slowly turning red. Sam was impressed despite herself.

“Is there a reason you like to see me sprawled on the ground, Dash?” Danny continued. “That what gets you going?” 

Tucker wasn’t laughing anymore. He was staring between Dash and Danny, eyes wide with his napkin in his mouth. Sam held her breath, her boot still ready to be thrown.

“Not as much as I’d like to see you strung up on a flagpole by your underwear,” Dash said quietly. He reached forward and Danny stood up, out of reach. “Bet you’re scared now-”

Danny pulled something from his belt. A little green box. “Not so fast,” he said. “You wouldn’t want me to activate one of my parents cool gadgets, now would you?” 

Dash scoffed. “I’m so sure yo-” 

Danny pressed a button. The little box squirted out a jet of green goop all over Dash’s face. Students from other lunch table’s were watching them now. They started laughing.

“Fenton! Wh-what is this?!” Dash tried wiping his face off with the sleeve of his jacket, to little effect. He groaned in frustration. “You’re going to regret that,” he said. Then he stomped away. Presumably to wash his face in a bathroom somewhere.

Danny sat back down and picked up his burger. Sam stared at him as he started eating with his eyes down. “What the hell was that,” she said. “What is wrong with you?” 

Danny shrugged. 

Tucker spat the napkin out of his mouth. “Holy shit, that was… That was...”

“It was wrong,” Sam said. “How could you use a ghost weapon on someone?”

“Aw c’mon,” Tucker said. “It’s Dash, he deserved it.” 

“Yeah,” Danny mumbled around a mouth full of burger. “Deserved it.” 

“Isn’t that stuff radioactive?” Sam said. She was tempted to throw her boot at his thick skull, but she took a deep breath and put it back on her foot instead. 

“It’s harmless,” Danny said. “My dad gets covered in the stuff all the time.” 

“But it’s not like you to just-” 

“There you go again,” Danny said. He put his burger down. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam said. She swung her legs back and forth under the table and bunched her skirt into her fists. Wanting to control herself, but also wanting to kick him.

“You’re always telling me how you think I should be,” Danny said. For the first time in a while blue eyes stared directly at her. “How I’m somehow failing at being _myself._ ” 

The words were a slap in the face. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but nothing came out. She stopped swinging her legs and nearly ripped the seam in her skirt with her grip. 

Danny stood up with his tray. “Definitely lost my appetite,” he said. “I’ll see you guys later.” 

She could only watch helplessly as he walked away. When he was gone she shoved her own lunch tray away and slammed her head down on the table. 

“You want to explain what I’m missing here?” Tucker said. “Cause I’m lost.” 

Sam groaned. “Ever since the accident-” 

“Wait, I take it back. I’m not lost,” Tucker said. “You are.” 

She lifted her head. “What?” 

“You need to let it go, Sam.” Tucker was ignoring his food. 

Tucker never ignored his food. She straightened. “It’s not as simple as that.”

“Isn’t it? He’s got his memories back. He’s fine.” Tucker removed his glasses and cleaned them against his shirt. “There’s something else going on.”

“First of all, he’s lying when he says he remembers squat,” Sam said. “But what else could be going on?” 

“He’s been grouchy ever since he went to Wisconsin with his folks,” Tucker said. “I asked him about it, but he just blew me off.” 

“Since Wisconsin?” Sam said. She took a tentative bite of her salad. It was soggy. “I haven’t noticed him being grouchy.” Not strictly true. Danny seemed like he was _always_ a little testy. Ever since the accident. Their friendship wasn’t the same.

“Well, he’s always kind of grouchy around _you_ ,” Tucker said. “So I guess to you it was the same difference.” 

That stung. “Fuck you.”

“I’m sorry, but you need to stop analyzing every little thing he does,” Tucker said. “That’s what drives him crazy.”

“Did he tell you that?” 

“He didn’t have to.” Having said his peace Tucker finally dug into his meal. Sam stared at him in disgust and poked at the sorry mess that had become of her own lunch.

When he finished eating Tucker looked apologetic. “Sam, it’s going to be okay.”

“No it’s not,” she said. She didn’t want to be comforted. She wanted to sulk.

“It doesn’t matter what he remembers or doesn’t remember. He’s still the same person.” 

You’re wrong, she thought. That boy was not the real Danny Fenton. She’d killed him.

And she could never make it right. 


	2. Chapter 2

Paulina Sanchez was definitely pretty. Her hair was long and thick. It had a slight wave to it. Her skin was lovely and tan and, well, her jeans hugged her in all the great places. Her shirt too.

He hadn't noticed her before because they didn't share any classes. She was just another pretty face in the crowd. But now Danny found himself looking for her in the hallways.

She was a cheerleader. Maybe that's another reason he hadn't noticed her. All her friends were the kind of people he hated. That is to say, they were Dash's crowd.

He couldn't stand anything that reminded him of that dumb jock.

Paulina was someone better left alone, he thought. Yet when he accidentally made eye contact with her, he couldn't help smiling. It was an automatic reaction.

And isn't it just common courtesy to smile? What was he supposed to do?

Her locker was way too close to his.

The school day was over, he was just grabbing the last of his things and he really didn't want to be thinking about her anymore. He shouldn't have looked her way. He shouldn't have smiled.

Paulina seemed to consider it an invitation. She walked over to him and smiled sweetly. She tucked some hair behind her ear. 

"That was hilarious at lunch," she said. "Your little slime prank." 

"Thanks, I'll be here all week," Danny said. "Actually, I'll be trapped until graduation."

Paulina tilted her head and politely laughed a dainty little confused kind of laugh. "Oh?" 

"Nevermind," Danny said. He just wanted to go home. "Have a good weekend."

"It's Thursday," Paulina said. She tucked another strand of hair behind her other ear.

"Really? That's too bad." He started walking backwards towards the door. "Have a great weekend and a great Friday, then."

She giggled, trailing after him. "I'm going in the same direction, dork."

He smacked his forehead and stopped walking. "Yes, of course." He held his arm out towards the exit. "Ladies first. I'll just loiter here for five minutes." 

"Or we could walk together?" Paulina said. She was blinking a little quickly now. Was this how girls flirted? 

"Nah, I wouldn't want to soil your reputation or anything."

"Puh-lease," Paulina said. She brushed a bit of hair over her shoulder just so she could then flip that hair behind her again. "My reputation will always be flawless."

At a loss, Danny shrugged. "Alright."

So they walked out of the building, shoulder to shoulder. Danny kept an eye out for Dash, but the guy never made an appearance.

He ended up walking Paulina all the way to the parking lot, somehow. 

"Hey Fenton," she said. "You have a date to the dance yet?" 

This could not be happening. "Uh, no."

"Yeah? Me neither!" Paulina clapped her hands and did this weird -but cute- little hop.

"What a remarkable coincidence," Danny said. He tugged at the hairs on the back of his neck. "Actually, I find that very hard to believe. So hard to believe that I, in fact, don't believe it." 

"Well okay," Paulina giggled. "A few people  _ did _ ask me."

"Oh really?" 

"And I might have said yes to someone," she said. She nibbled on her bottom lip. Not the way he often did, chomping down and drawing blood. 

No, Paulina did it in a cute way that made her lip slightly swollen without breaking skin. 

Danny realized she was waiting for a response. "So then who are you going with?"

She waved a hand. "He doesn't matter. I'm going to bail on him. There's someone else I'd rather go with." 

She was doing that rapid blinking thing again. It drew his attention to her eyelashes, which were really long. Danny wondered if they were real. Girls bought weird stuff like fake eyelashes, he’d heard. And, like, glued them on? 

"Who do you want to go with," he said. He thought he knew where she was going with this. But he also wondered if Dash was hiding under the car waiting for him to make a fool out of himself. 

She grinned. "You, silly!" 

"Uh, why?" 

Paulina tapped at her chin as if she were seriously mulling it over. "You just seem so different lately," she said. "You've changed. And I like it."

She winked at him. "I always thought you were a cutie."

"I was a cutie," he echoed. 

"Yeah!" Paulina said. "But you didn't know how to be chill."

"And now I do?" Danny realized his hand was still at the back of his neck. He put his arm down. 

"Let's find out for sure," she said, patting his cheek. "At the dance! Kay?" 

"Kay," he said. Like an idiot. 

"Great! Give me your phone." He did so and she typed her number in. "Text me so we can work out the details." 

Then she kissed him on the cheek and made shoo-ing motions. "Now go go, or you'll miss your bus."

He resisted the urge to touch the damp spot on his cheek. Instead he turned around and walked away, mindful of his speed and posture as he went. 

He missed his bus.

oOo   
  


Sam and Tucker were already online by the time he got home. Freshly annoyed by the lecture from Jazz (who had to drive back to school to bring him home) he really wasn't in the mood for dealing with the new guy.

But they were already grinding away when Danny logged in to Doomed, so there was no helping it. 

Not that he had a problem with the new guy. He was cool and all. For a random online friend. A pen pal in Canada, of all places. That Sam had way too much emotional investment in. 

She'd met him on one of those websites where she liked to post the poetry he and Tucker were "too dumb to get." At first they had just emailed back and forth or something.

But then she just  _ had _ to introduce him to Doomed. Now they were all stuck trying to help him level up. They couldn't continue the main quest with a party member below level 50.

Though it might not take too long. Danny checked on  **ghosted** 's stats before opening the chat box and saw that he was already at 32. He'd gone up six levels in just a day. Not bad.

**fryertuck:** duuude u late!

**chaos:** Spaz

**ghosted:** hi danny! 

**SpaceAce12:** sorry guys

**chaos:** What happened?

**SpaceAce12:** missed the bus

**fryertuck:** he was with paulina!

**ghosted:** what?!

**ghosted:** who? o.o

**chaos:** A bitch

**SpaceAce12:** she's a cheerleader

**fryertuck:** THE HOTTEST ONE

**chaos:** What did she want? 

**ghosted:** o.o

**fryertuck:** eeey

**chaos:** -_-

**fryertuck:** EEEY

**ghosted:** >•>

**fryertuck:** DANNY

**SpaceAce12:** O.o

**chaos:** >•>

**ghosted:** >•>

**fryertuck:** we need answers!!!!

**SpaceAce12:** >•<

**chaos:** C'mon already

**fryertuck:** ANSWERS >:o

**SpaceAce12:** alright alright

**SpaceAce12:** togotothedance

**fryertuck:** THE DANCE?!?!

**chaos:** The dance

**chaos:** With. You

**fryertuck:** You actually asked her?!

**ghosted:** congrats

**SpaceAce12:** no!

**chaos:** She said no?

**fryertuck:** that's okay! 

**fryertuck:** points for asking! :D

**fryertuck:** all the respect

**SpaceAce12:** not what I meant -_-

**chaos:** Then what happened?

**SpaceAce12:** SHE

**SpaceAce12:** asked ME

**chaos:** What

**ghosted:** O:

**fryertuck:** WHAT A FREAKING TWIST

**fryertuck** : THE BOY BECOMES A MAN

**chaos:** I don't believe this

**ghosted:** o.o

**SpaceAce12:** it's true!

**fryertuck:** why would he lie sam

**SpaceAce12:** gave me her ## too

**fryertuck:** that's how you know it's real!

**ghosted:** did you text her?

**SpaceAce12:** not yet o.o

**fryertuck:** smart man

**fryertuck:** jus be chiiiill play it cool

**chaos:** She must have a motive

**ghosted:** wow Sam

**fryertuck:** don't be a debbie downer

**SpaceAce12:** -_-

**chaos:** I'm serious! It's suspicious! 

**fryertuck:** noooooo

**ghosted:** T.T

**SpaceAce12:** you're an ass

**chaos:** Why do you even care?!

**chaos:** You don't even like her!!!

**SpaceAce12:** who says I don't?!

**chaos:** the way you acted at lunch!

**fryertuck:** sam he was a BOSS

**SpaceAce12:** that's why!!!

**SpaceAce12:** she liked it!

**chaos:** What?

**SpaceAce12:** she said I'm chill

**SpaceAce12:** I wasn't before

**ghosted:** guys, help me out

**ghosted:** what happened at lunch?

**chaos:** NO

**ghosted logged out**

**chaos logged out**

**SpaceAce12:** uh 

**fryertuck:** what the heck

**SpaceAce12:** did she just

**fryertuck:** tell her boyfriend to log out?

**SpaceAce12:** he's not her bf

**fryertuck:** suuuure he's not

**fryertuck:** you're so innocent my child

**SpaceAce12:** -_-

**SpaceAce12:** should we quest?

**SpaceAce12:** ghosted is gone so

**fryertuck:** without sam?!

**fryertuck:** wanna die?!!!!!

**SpaceAce12:** she'll get over it

**fryertuck:** dude she's our tank

**SpaceAce12:** oh

**SpaceAce12:** right we'd die yup

**fryertuck:** eh I should do my homework

**SpaceAce12:** for once

**fryertuck:** right back at ya

**fryertuck logged out**

  
  


Danny sighed. He shut the game down and grabbed his algebra textbook. Then he opened the contacts folder on his phone.

Just to look at Paulina's number. Reassure himself that it was really there.

But Tucker was right. He should play it cool. Text her tomorrow.

With that in mind, he did his homework until it was time for dinner.

oOo

When the ghost alarm went off, Danny ignored it. His parents had installed the thing three days ago and day one had been a disaster, of course.

It was overly sensitive, activating as soon as the ghost portal was opened or if someone used anything powered by ectoplasm.

They'd said they would turn the sensitivity down. No one wanted to hear a blaring alarm every five minutes. Thankfully this was the first time he'd heard it today.

Still, Danny figured it was a low level ghost. An animal or something. The alarm stopped beeping and he thought he'd be able to continue his homework in peace.

Until he heard Jazz screaming. "Get away from my room!"

He couldn't resist poking his head into the hallway to peer at the commotion.

"It's a powerful one this time Jazzy-cakes!" Dad said. He was holding one of the trackers. "It's a special one!"

"I don't care," Jazz said. "Go look somewhere else."

"But it was  _ in there, _ sweetie," Mom said. "The residue is all over the room."

They looked more excited than usual. Dad was swinging his arms and hopping onto his tippy does, then back on his soles, then back on his toes. He continued like that, positively vibrating, just itching to go further into her room.

Mom put a hand on Jazz's shoulder. "Honey, the ghost boy was trying to haunt you. Won't you let us just-"

Jazz spun around and stomped back into her room. She came back out with an armful of books. 

"Fine!" she snapped. "I'll be in the kitchen. Studying while I wait for  _ dinner _ .”

"Oh, is it that time already?" Mom said. "Jack, I should probably go make something."

When she passed Danny in the hallway, Jazz didn't spare him a glance. Should he feel offended at that?

Instead, he was relieved.

Tentatively, he approached his parents. "Why not order a pizza?"

"Oh, honey," Mom said. "We need to stop eating so much fast food-"

"But this sounds important," Danny said. "The ghost boy was here? That's huge."

"Isn't it?!" Dad said. He started setting up a little workstation on Jazz's bed. Danny didn't recognize the equipment, but it looked like it had been made out of a beaten up microwave. "We haven't seen that sucker since ol' Vladdy's spooky castle."

"It was a mansion, dear." Mom was eyeing the equipment and her watch, looking torn.

"A castle themed mansion!"

"But, uh, how do you know it's the same ghost?" Danny said. He leaned against the doorframe of the room.

"We recognized his ecto-signature," Mom said. "Each ghost has one. It's like a thumb print."

"Cool, cool. So hey why don't I make something?" He tried to look nonchalant, walking slowly backwards towards the stairs with his hands behind his back. "And you guys just... keep doing what you're doing."

"Danny, I don't think that's-" Mom started, but dad interrupted her. "A great idea Dan-o!"

"It'll be something simple," he said, raising his voice since he could no longer see them. "Macaroni, you know? That's easy."

Mom poked her head out of the room. "We ran out of macaroni."

"I'll go buy some real quick," Danny shouted over his shoulder as he jogged down the stairs. "Okay bye!"

And he was out of the house before anyone could say otherwise. 

He jogged around the monstrosity known as Fenton Works twice, craning his head, squinting at every window and crevasse.

As if he could spot Phantom just like that. The guy could float right by him invisibly and Danny would never know.

It bothered him that the ghost had been with Jazz. What was he doing in her room? Did she know him the way Danny knew him? 

It wasn't possible.

Not like he could ask her either way. If he was wrong it would blow the secret. If he was right, well. He didn't want to be. It had been nice, having Phantom to himself. A secret best friend. 

But then he had to go and screw it up. Just in case, he hastily shouted "I'm sorry!" in the general direction of Jazz's bedroom window. 

The result was disappointing. His dad opened the window and stuck his head out. "What's up kiddo?"

Scrambling for a response, Danny said the first thing he could think of. "Wh-what kind of macaroni should I buy?"

His dad blinked at him and scratched his head. "Whatever's cheapest?" 

He gave his dad two thumbs up and headed for the store, trying to swallow the familiar ache in his throat. It was only a matter of time, after all. Phantom would come back.

Right? 


	3. Chapter 3

Sam was pacing. She’d blasted some of her favorite heavy metal music and was just pacing around the room, refusing to look at him or acknowledge the way she’d abruptly logged them out of the game. 

He could just leave. Heck, if he really wanted to know what had happened at lunch with Paulina he could ask Fenton himself. It would be easy to just fly into his room and demand answers.

But Phantom hadn’t seen him since they’d gotten back from Wisconsin. 

Also he didn’t know if Fenton had put together the fact that Phantom was basically stalking his friend group with a not so subtle internet alias. It shouldn’t be hard for him to figure out. Phantom had chosen the name **ghosted** for a reason. But Fenton could be thick at the best of times. 

Phantom didn’t like the way this felt though. Playing under his nose and all.

But he didn’t have the guts to say: “Hey, Fenton I miss you and our friends and also I miss Doomed so I’m just gonna squeeze in here now okay? I’ll work hard to level up!”

Something told him Fenton wouldn’t take that too well. 

The whole thing had been Sam’s idea in the first place. She gave him the laptop, she pulled him into the group, she even spent actual money to give him higher level items. He might have turned all that down if she wasn’t loaded. But apparently she was filthy rich. 

Funny what you learn when you’re dead. His best friend had never let him into her house before. They’d been friends for _years_ , but he hadn’t known her as well as he’d thought.

So now he lounged on her leather sofa inside her massive bedroom and eyed the mounted speakers which were probably killing her eardrums. And for what? As Jazz might have said, this wasn’t healthy. 

He unplugged Sam's speakers.

“Hey!” she said. Shouted. “I was listening to that.” 

“Now you can listen to me tell you that you don’t need to shout,” Phantom said. “And that you don’t have to sacrifice your hearing to avoid the topic. You don’t want me to know about Fenton and Paulina. I get it. I won’t ask again.” 

She stopped pacing. “That's not fair,” Sam said. “You can’t be cool about this.”

“I can’t?” Phantom floated over to her. He floated on his back and pretended to backstroke swim over her head. “Why can’t I?” 

“You should be mad!” she said. She continued pacing. “Aren’t you mad?”

“I think you’re the one who’s mad, Sam.” 

"Because he doesn't even like her." She picked up a pillow and twisted it, as if she were trying to wring water out. "It's, I don't even, he didn't know her!"

Phantom didn't have a response to that. The problem, as Sam saw it, was always the same. It wasn't about Paulina. Phantom sighed and floated down to her level, allowing his feet to reach the ground.

Sam threw the pillow at him, but it sailed through him and knocked over a lamp instead.

"He doesn't deserve to go with her," Sam said. She stomped towards him and he flinched as she deliberately walked through him. She kicked the lamp. "Urgh, doesn't it make you want to… to…"

"Possess him?" He glared at her and she flinched.

Then she squared her shoulders. "Yes! Why not?"

"That wouldn't be fair either," he murmured. He thought of Vlad Masters and how easily the ghost had merged with his human counterpart.

If he tried would Phantom reunite with his own body as easily? Could he take it back, own it, as if he'd never left?

Or would it be the death of a clone, absorbed into Danny Fenton? Leaving the boy with both. Like Vlad.

Phantom shuddered. 

"But-" Sam started.

"I may be dead," Phantom said. "But I have my own life now, believe it or not." 

He dove into the air with a backflip and landed feet first on the ceiling. Smirking, he started to pace.

"Did you hear about the ghost attack at the mall?" he said. "I flew in like a superhero and saved the day!"

She flopped back onto her couch with a groan, rolling her eyes at him. "Yes, yes. Flying is cool. Walking on the ceiling is cool. I get it." 

"Sam, it was a ghost _dragon_!"

She blinked. "Oh. I did hear about that." She started to sit up, then seemed to think better of it and grabbed a pillow, settling onto her back. "I thought the rumors were exaggerating it."

"Nope!" Phantom made a show of cracking his knuckles, but he couldn't get a good sound out of it. Right, no bones. He gave up. "By the time my pare- I mean, the Fentons showed up… I'd already taken care of it. De-escalated the, uh, situation."

De-escalate. It was one of Jazz's buzz words, he thought with a pang.

"You can call them your parents, Danny," Sam said.

"No I can't. Stop calling me that," Phantom said. Sam rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. They aren't my family anymore."

"So what are you saying? You don't care about them?"

"It's not about caring or not, you ass. They're ghost hunters," he said. He allowed himself to float away from the ceiling, drifting aimlessly. "How do you think Maddie would react if I accidentally called her "mom" while she's chasing me with a Fenton bazooka?"

"Maybe she'd put down the bazooka," Sam said, dryly. 

He laughed without humor. "Sure, Sam. Sure she would." 

An uncomfortable silence settled over them. Phantom watched Sam shiver and grabbed a blanket without promoting. He hovered over her with the blanket held out.

A peace offering.

She took the blanket. "How did a scrawny twerp like you beat up a dragon?" 

He grinned. "I didn't have to."

She motioned with her hands for him to get on with the story.

"I just talked to her," he said. "I flew directly in front of her face, so she could see me. And I spoke calmly."

Jazz had once said that the best way to approach an angry dog was with soothing tones. The ghost wasn't a dog, but he'd taken a shot in the dark.

"Turns out she was a shapeshifter," Phantom said. "When she was calm she turned into a normal lady."

Sam grunted and pointed at another pillow on her bed. What, was she building a nest? But he threw it at her and kept talking. "Well, normal for a ghost."

"Dude, you should have seen her dress," Phantom said. "And the way she talked! She was so old."

"An angry old lady?" Sam said. She even grabbed the pillow that was on the floor, bringing it into her little cocoon. 

"No, she looked like she'd died young," he said. "But ages ago. Medieval times or something."

Sam grinned. "That's awesome and tragic at once."

"Isn't it? And she gave me a gift, I think." He showed her the amulet he'd been wearing under his jumpsuit ever since. "It was a little hard to understand her old timey English. But she basically said she never wanted to see this again."

"Not exactly what you want to hear when you get a gift," Sam muttered. She sat up and patted the seat beside her. He sat down and she reached for the amulet, shivering again as her arm exited the blanket. "Can I try it on?"

He gave it to her, relieved to finally take her mind off Fenton. 

"This is positively _gothic_ ," Sam said. She abandoned her nest and went to her closet to pull out a dress. "Look, it matches!" 

Phantom whistled. "That's some dress you got there."

She blushed. "It's supposed to be for the dance. I probably won't even go though. It's stupid." 

"It's not stupid," he said. "You should go. And take the necklace."

"Really?" she frowned. "What if it's haunted?" 

"Eh, I've had that thing for days and nothing's happened," Phantom said. "It's just a relic."

"Just cause nothing's happened to _you_ doesn't mean-"

"Alright, fair point." He held his hand out to her. "Give it here then." 

She held the necklace cradled against her chest. "Well," she said. "I should at least try it on… see how it looks with the dress on." 

He grinned. "At least." 

It looked great, of course. It was like the dress and necklace were cut from the same gargoyle themed lace cloth. So she agreed to keep it.

When her parents called her to dinner he didn't need to leave. He was welcome to loiter, she said. Again. To use her laptop or TV or… anything, really. 

It was like playing hooky in a grand hotel and never getting kicked out. He could play video games all day, binge every show on Netflix, or just stretch out and nap like a cat.

The desire to sleep is what ruined it, really. It was strange. He technically never felt tired anymore. Yet sometimes he'd feel himself droop, like a wet noodle.

He'd just lie on the couch and stare at the TV without blinking. He didn't need to adjust his position, his butt wouldn't get tired of his weight. Neither of his feet ever fell asleep.

He'd spent eight hours like that once. Without realizing Netflix had stopped playing he'd just gone off into his own head. Into old memories. 

Seemed freaky, in retrospect. It wasn't until Sam got home from school that he even realized how much time had passed. 

Since then he'd resolved not to spend too much time at Sam's house. But where else was he supposed to go? He felt uncomfortable in public after dark.

He just wanted to be able to go _home._ Even just as an unacknowledged fly on the wall. It was sad, seeing his family happy without him. But it was also reassuring to check in every once in a while.

Phantom wanted them to be happy without him. He _did._

Even if he didn't, or if they weren't, he knew his invisible presence was useless.

Still, he couldn't resist going. He had to _know._ He had to watch and eavesdrop and wallow just a little bit. 

But this time an alarm went off and he booked it like a deer who spots a lion.

oOo  


Invisibility had been the easiest power, at first. It had been automatic. Whenever he didn't feel safe. Or if he was uncomfortable, really.

Then it had seemed like the hardest power to control. He couldn't turn it off if he was embarrassed, for instance. Even if he was with Fenton and _wanted_ to be seen. He'd just be stuck invisible.

Phantom had a comfortable handle on all his powers now though.

Or so he'd thought.

Then a group of college kids slipped on the ice that had spread around him as Phantom had sat in the park, curled up and miserable. 

He gaped at the mess of it. There were icicles on the jungle gym. Frost in his hair. Phantom watched the cloud of their breath as the group of guys helped each other to their feet and beat a hasty retreat.

He watched them go and then stared at his hands. The frost was definitely his fault, but how did it work? It didn't have a clear origin. But Phantom found that he didn't care. 

Not like the cold bothered him anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

These days Danny tried to walk around the house as quietly as possible. He felt it was important to keep tabs on his parents. He could help Phantom that way, maybe.

"... arrogant to assume he'd followed us?" Mom was saying. "Trying to hunt the hunters?"

They were working on the kitchen table. He lingered at the bottom of the staircase.

"Ghosts aren't smart enough for that, Mads." 

"But why else would he have been in Wisconsin?" Mom said. "It's too much of a coincidence."

She was half right. But Phantom would never try to hurt them. 

"Need help with the tie?" Jazz said. Danny nearly tripped off the last step in surprise. He hadn't noticed her coming down behind him.

"Y-yeah," he said. She scrutinized him, but whatever she found wasn't worth comment.

Or she was holding back.

He followed her into the kitchen and mom squealed at the sight of him.

"You look so cute in your little suit!" she said. "Let me take a picture."

"A boy becomes a man," dad said, solemnly. He stood and gave Danny a hug, lifting him off the ground.

"It's just a dance," Danny said. Jazz shooed their dad out of the way so she could work on the tie. 

He tried to give them a light hearted smile for the photos. 

It was harder than it should have been.

oOo

"Tell me about yourself," Paulina said. They'd been dancing for the past four songs, but she'd finally gotten tired enough to let him sit.

"About myself?" Danny said. "Oh, uh, that's a hard one."

"Aw, come on," she said. She put her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands. "I've never had the chance to properly talk to you like this. Pretend you're introducing yourself to me. I want to know the real Danny Fenton." 

She winked.

There's no such person, Danny thought. I'm nobody. "Alright, but help me narrow it down? It's… hard."

Paulina giggled. "It doesn't have to be. Just tell me what you like."

He stared at her.

"Your _interests_ ," she said. "Hobbies or whatever."

He thought of the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. The NASA posters, the cosmic bedspread. "I like astronomy," he said. "Uh, NASA and stuff."

"Cool, what do you like about it?" Paulina said.

"I don't know."

Jeez Fenton, now is not the time for an existential crisis.

"You, uh, you like cheerleading?" Danny said.

Smooth transition, loser. He shoved his hands in his pockets, wanting to disappear.

But Paulina let it go.

"... and my Papi is a banker," Paulina was saying. Danny nodded. "Shut up!" she said, playfully shoving his shoulder. "I know, it's so boring, ugh."

Danny blinked. He desperately wanted to say the right thing here, but he was at a loss. "Boring sounds nice," he settled on.

"But I wish my parents were like yours," Paulina said. "All the gadgets and spooky encounters? It sounds amazing. Is it amazing?" 

Ah.

"It's disturbing," he murmured. Danny decided to milk this, now that he could see her angle.

With newfound confidence, he leaned towards her. "They're everywhere, you know?"

"The ghosts?" Her voice had lowered to match his and she breathed the words out, just a notch above a whisper.

"Most of the time they're invisible," Danny said. "They walk all over us. Swim through us. Watching…"

"What do they want to see?" she whispered. Paulina leaned towards him too, now.

"I don't think they know themselves." Thinking of Phantom, he let his volume go back to normal. Teasing her didn't seem fun anymore. "They're just… sad, I think. Or lost."

She frowned. "Do you think the ghost boy is sad?"

He blinked. "Uh, I don't know?" Tugged at his tie. "I haven't seen him up close."

"I have!" Paulina said. "He saved me once."

"Oh yeah?"

She started brushing her fingers through her hair, eyes wandering over his head.

Story time, he supposed.

"I was talking to this guy," she started. "He seemed normal at first. He was flirting with me and I didn't think much of it."

Danny nodded. 

"Then his girlfriend showed up all pissy," Paulina said. "Again, perfectly normal."

Danny laughed.

She smirked. 

"But then things got freaky," she said. "She started glowing. And things went flying! Like she was freaking Carrie."

Ghosts were telekinetic? Huh.

"I literally thought the bitch was gonna kill me," Paulina said. "Her boyfriend wasn't even trying to stop her."

Wait a minute.

"Then the ghost boy rescued me," she pouted. "And flew off with them."

The cheating ghost went by the name Johnny 13. He'd died in a motorcycle accident with Kitty, his girlfriend. Phantom had gotten the whole story out of them.

"Maybe he's shy," Danny said. He could picture it clearly. The two of them, when they were friends, just hanging out in his room.

Phantom loved talking about his encounters with other ghosts. He would ask a million questions, if they let him. Then re-tell their stories in dramatic detail.

"But I wanted to talk to him," she said. Still pouting. "At least to thank him?"

"He probably figures it’s best to be cautious with humans," Danny said. "If my parents got close to him the last thing they’d want to do is thank him."

"What? Why not?!"

"He's a ghost."

"But he's a good ghost." Paulina huffed. Like it was simple.

He wished it could be. "They don't believe in good ghosts."

He thought she might have been scandalized by that. That she'd argue against it, as if he agreed with them. Instead she just said "Well, boo." And then announced that she needed the ladies room.

Not knowing what else to do, Danny followed her and stood outside.

He saw Tucker there.

"Sam's in the bathroom?" 

"Yep," Tucker said. He held up his plastic cup of punch in mock cheers. It would have been fun to clink their cups together, but Danny left his at the table.

He was going to make a joke or something, but that was when the ghost dragon showed up.

oOo

It was a ghost all right. A real dragon would have destroyed the building just by standing in it, but this one had stuck its head inside the gym through the wall. It was pale and semi-transparent.

Everyone was screaming and Danny realized with regret that he'd left the Fenton Thermos at home. He wore it to school every day on that belt full of gadgets, but didn't think to wear it with his suit. 

What an idiot. 

He had his phone instead and was about to call his parents when the dragon scooped him up like a blonde in a King Kong movie.

Like even more of an idiot, he dropped the phone as he was carried off. 

The dragon didn't go far. Just jumped out of the building and onto the football field. It was growling and releasing random bursts of fire into the air, but otherwise...

Well, it seemed confused. Agitated and defensive, for sure. When a flock of birds flew over head it flinched so hard it nearly dropped him. 

Danny dangled by a clawed finger and used his momentum to swing his legs up, so he could wrap them around the digit. Maybe being in the paws of a dragon wasn’t ideal, but falling twenty feet through the air would be worse. 

The dragon looked more solid now. In the school it had been walking through everything, but out here it bumped into stuff. It’s tail knocked over a set of bleachers and then crushed them like tin foil. Danny heard someone screaming in response and wondered if someone had been under there.

Had they been crushed? Pinned down? Would they bleed out, alone and scared, while he closed his eyes like a scared little boy, like a waste of space that was better off dead?

Danny had never felt this cold before. He suppressed the urge to let go. Because who would he help if he plummeted to the ground? Nobody. Instead he inched forward, slowly crawling up the dragon’s arm. It was easy because, with the way the dragon was positioned, he was actually sliding downwards. 

It’s a fireman’s pole, Danny told himself. A really thick, super scaly fireman’s pole. 

He was halfway to its shoulder when the dragon noticed and picked him up with its other hand. It held him close to its face and he thought it would incinerate him, but instead it just sniffed at him. Like a dog trying to recognize a visitor. 

“Hey, dragon breath!” 

The dragon blinked in surprise and Danny flinched. It’s eyes were _massive_ and they’d been solidly open this whole time. Cause ghost’s didn’t need to blink, did they? It was something he hadn’t noticed before. 

“ _Hey,_ over here! Eyes off the human, I’d make a much better toy!” It was Phantom, of course. He was flying around the dragon’s head, but it kept its gaze on Danny. 

“This is just rude,” Phantom said. He tugged at its ears and the dragon growled, finally lifting its head towards him. “C’mon, I thought we had an understanding. We even bonded, sort of. Remember that one time at the mall? It’s a precious memory!” 

Danny had no idea what Phantom was talking about, but he needed to take advantage of the distraction. Once again he wriggled out of the dragon’s palm and tried climbing down its arms. He went slow at first, worried it would feel the movement, but when he accidentally dislodged a scale and got no reaction he figured the ghost was pretty numb.

He made it to its shoulder without a problem. 

The dragon had forgotten Danny’s existence, it seemed. It was breathing fire, directing it at Phantom. He stared in horror, wondering if a ghostly fire could inflict the kind of damage a real fire couldn’t, but when the fire died out he saw that Phantom was in some kind of green bubble. 

“Didn’t know I could do that!” Phantom shouted with a grin and a thumbs up. He was looking at Danny. “Hey! Get the necklace off!” 

Necklace?

The ghost _did_ have something on its neck, now that he looked. But when he tried to crawl towards it the dragon bucked and he slid down its back. Phantom tried to approach himself, but he had the beast’s full attention. It jumped after him like a cat trying to pin down a laser pointer’s red dot. All he could do was dance out of its reach as it chased him.

All Danny could do was hold on for dear life and try to crawl forward. Gravity was no longer on his side and he wasn’t exactly known for his upper body strength, but something like an adrenaline rush pushed him forward until he finally reached the nape of the dragon’s neck.

The cloth was glowing, but otherwise it felt normal. It wasn’t cold or hot and it easily tore when Danny bit into the material. Then the necklace shrank and he put it in his pocket, instinctively wanting to preserve it. 

He didn’t know the dragon would shrink too. 

Then he was falling. He screamed and he heard Phantom call out his name. The ghost boy caught him and safely brought him to the ground, depositing him at the entrance to the school and disappearing before Danny could stutter out more than a thank you. 


	5. Chapter 5

When Sam shrank back into herself she was knelt on the ground on her hands and knees. She squinted up at Phantom and sat back on her heels, dazed.

Remarkably, there was no damage to her dress. Not a single rip in the cloth, not even a wrinkle. Nor a strand out of place in her weird spidery up-do. Her mascara was running, but she might have been crying _before_ she’d morphed into a giant ghost dragon. 

Phantom had no way of knowing. He wasn’t there.

Not for the first time he wished he had a cellphone or something. If he could have gotten here sooner, if he’d _known,_ then maybe he could have prevented this whole mess.

Or at least saved the football field’s stadium lights. 

He wasn’t sure if he should lift her up. Maybe fly her home? Was she aware of what had just happened? The damage around them would speak for itself if she wasn’t. 

Kneeling down in front of her he extended his hand forward, slowly, as if she were a stray cat he was trying to feed. 

She slapped his hand away, spinning away from him. Phantom winced at the reaction and might have stood to back away, but then she puked. She held her own hair out of her face as she retched, she even bunched up the skirt of her dress and held it safely against her chest. Phantom inched closer with his hands awkwardly raised, hovering, looking for a task.

Before he could figure out what that task might be she was done. Then she stood on her own and faced him with her chin in the air. Defiant. Phantom chuckled. 

“I know, I know,” he said. “You never needed me.” 

At his words her face crumpled and she bit her lip. “Th-that’s not. That’s…” She sighed. “I don’t want your pity.”

“You think I wanted yours?” Phantom countered.

She actually stomped her foot. “That isn’t fair!” Sam made as if to swipe her bangs out of her face and growled in frustration when she found that her hair was still gelled into place. “Th-this stupid hair,” she said. Even after yanking out the hair ties that held her spiderweb pigtails in place, her hair still maintained its shape. She groaned and raked her fingers through the strands, violently ruffling it out of shape. 

Phantom stepped forward, his arms lifted. Hovering over her once again. She noticed this time and froze, allowing him to take her hands off her head. He held them in his own for a second before realizing how that must _look._

Then he dropped them like he had been burned. “S-sorry, I-”

She grinned. “There he is,” Sam said. “That awkwardness. It’s a part of you.” 

He sputtered. “It’s the stupidest part of me.” 

“Try the funniest,” she said. “All a girl has to do,” Sam leaned forward and ruffled his hair. “Is get a little close.” If Phantom were human he would feel the heat on his face. For the first time it occurred to him that he could not blush. 

She could read his thoughts. “I don’t need to see you blush to know,” Sam smirked. “It’s written all over your face.”

“Wh-what’s written there?” he said. “Stop messing with me.” 

She released him. “I’m just being stupid,” Sam said. She wiped at her face and frowned at the mascara on her fingers. “Just… Just wanted to get that reaction from you again.”

“I missed seeing that look on your face,” she added. “Whenever you would talk to a pretty girl or whatever. N-not that _I’m_ a pretty girl,” she snorted. “I mean, you know.”

“Wha- Sam you’ve always been a p-pretty girl,” Phantom said. He tugged at the hairs at the back of his neck. “Gaaah, and I think Dash and his friends are looking for me. Let's get out of here?” 

They were still in the center of the football field. He could see the football team struggling to climb over the broken metal bleachers, which had been flipped upside down and crumpled like tin foil then tossed aside by her Ghost Dragon alter ego. She was lucky she hadn’t crushed anyone with them. Sam glanced over his shoulder and saw what he meant. 

“Oh, you want to just, uh, fly away?” Sam said. Phantom was relieved that she chose not to follow up on his admittance that she was a pretty girl. 

“Yeah, but let me take you home.” 

Now it was her turn to blush. “You mean carry me?” 

He stared at his feet. “Th-that’s the only way it would work?” 

“Right,” she said. “Of course.” 

Then they both stood there and stared at each other in silence. 

Until they heard Dash shouting _Inviso-bill_ in delight when he finally made it over the bleachers. Phantom quickly put his arms around Sam’s waist and she put her arms around his neck. Her grip tightened as they began their ascent. If he were human she’d have choked him to death, he thought. 

She was warm. He could hear her heartbeat.

“D-don’t be nervous,” Phantom said. He said it for himself as much as for her. He’d been slowly lifting them higher above the field, but now he hesitated. As they floated in place he looked out over the school. He could see Dash and his cronies directly below them now. Waving their arms trying to get his attention. Then out by the parking lot he saw the rest of the school. 

Someone was waving a hastily cobbled together poster that said **We Love You Ghost Boy!** With a red marker and little smiley face doodle. Phantom grinned and accidentally made eye contact with the girl holding it. It was Paulina.

He quickly looked away.

Sam put her head against his neck and breathed deeply to steady herself. He shivered as he felt a puff of air against his skin. 

“Go ahead,” she said. “Let’s go home.” 

He spotted Fenton getting into Jazz’s car and felt his muscles loosen. “Okay.” 

oOo  


"Do you hate him?" Phantom said. They were sitting on her bed with the laptops, grinding on Doomed. Sam hadn't even bothered to change out of her dress.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. She used her avatar to kick him.

He logged out of the game. "We can't play around all night."

He set the laptop aside on a nightstand. She shrugged and continued the game without him.

"Goodnight then," he said. He floated, just a little. Threatening to leave.

She grabbed his arm. "C'mon."

He waited.

Sam groaned. "I don't hate him!"

"You attacked him," Phantom said. He was still floating. He flipped himself over so he was hovering directly above her, facing towards her.

"I was possessed," she said. She was looking at the game, but her avatar stood still and got killed. 

"No. The necklace gave you power," he said. "You controlled it."

She pushed her laptop off her lap. Phantom winced at the sound of the impact when it landed on the floor.

"Sam-"

"It was like being drunk!" she said. "Everything was… primal."

"Then you hate him on a primal level?" Phantom said. He resisted the urge to pick up her laptop. 

Sam picked up a pillow and shoved it at her face. He thought she would scream, but she didn't. She just sat there, hiding her face.

He tentatively grabbed the pillow. She didn't resist as he pulled it away.

"It's like… the fae have kidnapped my best friend," Sam said. "They replaced him with this changeling and I'm the only one who can see the difference!"

Phantom stared at her. "Huh?"

"It's a story. Folk tales," she said. "Ugh, would you stop hovering over me?"

She tugged him back into the bed. He landed too close, practically on top of her. She had reclined to be lying down.

They were both lying down. Up against each other. In a _bed_.

Phantom felt himself short circuiting with indecision. Move? Stay? It was comfortable, he wanted to stay.

"... are they fairies themselves or are they like zombies? I don't think a changeling is meant to be malicious," Sam was saying. "But I hadn't thought about them as characters in their own right. They were just… these little monsters." 

He had no idea what she was saying. Should he tell her that or pretend he did? She'd be pissed if he got caught.

"But this isn't an old wives tale," Sam said with a sigh. She turned onto her side. Shit now she was closer. And looking right at him. "That's what drives me crazy. I don't know what to make of him. Or of this crazy situation."

She dabbed at her eyes. Shit, she was crying. "Or how to help you."

"Hey, hey, hey" he said. "I keep telling you I'm fine." 

Very slowly, so that she could punch him or something if she wanted, he put an arm around her. Sam rolled into him in response, her arms under his back and gripping his shoulders.

Swallowing, he hugged her with both arms and patted her as she continued to cry. 

"You're not fine!" she said. "You're dead! You can't go to dances or college or, or-"

"Danny Fenton is alive," Phantom said. " _I'm_ just a weird fluke. A clone."

That surprised her enough to stop the tears in their tracks. "Wh-what?"

"I met someone in Wisconsin,' Phantom said. "This creepy guy who had a similar experience."

"It's happened before?" Sam propped herself up to look at him. She blushed, maybe noticing for the first time that they were embracing IN HER BED.

But she didn't get off of him.

"My parents had another ghost portal," Phantom said. "A prototype. It didn't work. It exploded in someone's face."

"In the face of the man you met," Sam said. She frowned at him. "You aren't lying to me?"

He gaped at her. "Why would I lie?" He draped an arm over his eyes, tilting his chin up in a dramatic show of hurt feelings. "I see how it is."

She giggled. "I'm serious!"

"That's the problem," he said. "Ever since the accident. You're too serious."

She rolled her eyes. Something in the way she held herself was different now. Not exactly relaxed, but getting there.

She was still gripping his shoulders, but her hold had loosened.

"What's his name then?" Sam murmured. She was smiling down at him. She pulled one of her arms back and Phantom thought she was about to get off him.

Instead she brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

"Who?" Phantom said. He was glad he could not blush.

"The guy," she said. He blinked.

"In Wisconsin?" She prompted.

"Oh! Right, uh, well." He searched for an excuse not to tell her and tried to imagine a scenario where she would accept the omission.

It was impossible. Sam Manson was not a girl to be left in the dark. 

He gave up. "Vlad Masters."

Phantom found himself holding Sam a little tighter. Protective, as if saying the name would summon Vlad like some kind of demon.

"He had the same symptoms?" She looked thoughtful. Even with the running mascara and her hair in a frazzled mess- from her own fingers as well as the flight over here- she still managed to look like…

Like a girl on a mission. Phantom had seen this look on her face many times before. Whenever she found a new project, a new victim or injustice, this was how it started.

Not good.

"No!" he said.

"Then how did it affect him?"

"Wait, what?"

"The portal. Or prototype, whatever," Sam said. "If the symptoms weren't the same-"

"Oh! They were."

"But-"

"What I meant was, you can't look for him. Or contact him in any way."

"Ever," he added.

She narrowed her eyes. "You can't stop me."

"Sam, I'm serious!" Phantom said. "He's a dangerous man! He attacked me."

"Which of them?"

"Huh?"

"You said he was like you and Danny. That you were a clone. So did Vlad Masters attack you? Or his… Ghost?"

"Oh," Phantom cleared his throat. "The ghost."

"Then why would it be dangerous to contact his," she paused. "Human counterpart. Hmm?"

"I don't trust him either," Phantom said. "Please Sam don't turn this into a crusade."

"I resent that," she said. "You think I see you as a frog that's about to be dissected? A rabbit tortured by some pharmaceutical company?" 

She leaned forward. Sam's face hovered over him. Close enough for Phantom to feel her breath on his nose. 

"You aren't a project," she said. She took a deep breath. "And you aren't a victim. Danny…"

"I-I'm also not Danny," he murmured.

"Phantom, then." She stared at him.

He stared at her.

They were frozen like that for a while. Just staring as she breathed on his face and he wondered if it were possible for a ghost to pop a-

No, that would be-

Then she leaned forward and kissed him. He closed his eyes and let it happen. 

He didn't know how to kiss. Should he open his mouth? Keep it closed? What were you supposed to do with your lips? Pucker them?

She didn't really do anything besides touch his lips with hers. They both remained still and maybe she was waiting for him to take over? But he didn't know how.

Then she leaned back.

"Phantom?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Why are you invisible?"

He opened his eyes and looked down at himself. He just saw Sam. She looked like she was floating.

"Phantom?"

"I have to go," he said.

"What," she glared at her hands. He knew she wanted to aim it at him. She was close. "Where do you need to be right now?"

"F-Fenton," he said. "I need to-"

"You're joking."

"I'm sorry," Phantom activated his intangibility and moved out of the way as Sam was dropped onto the bed. 

She quickly sat back up. "Wait, Phantom-"

"S-sorry!" As if repeating it enough times could make it better.

But it was true. He needed to talk to Fenton. He'd put it off for long enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five long chapters have gone by with barely a word exchanged between Phantom and Fenton. I'M SO SORRY. 
> 
> *points a finger at Phantom* But it's his fault! The coward!
> 
> Now it's Sam's turn to be avoided, poor thing. o.o


	6. Chapter 6

The necklace had some kind of magic to it. Though Danny felt silly for thinking it, he had no other way to describe it. The brief glimpse he’d gotten of the dragon shrinking was stuck in his head. There had been a regular person wearing the necklace, right? He didn’t know who it was, but he thought they were wearing a dress. A student who had attended the dance?

Not a ghost, in other words. He was sure of it. Whoever she was, she hadn’t been glowing at all. She’d looked completely solid and- 

Or maybe he just wanted to believe it was possible. The urge to try the necklace on was powerful. He’d broken the string, but it would be easy to tie it back together. Though, if he did, would he have control over the dragon? Or would it take on a life of its own? 

Better not to, he decided. But he added it to his utility belt. For emergencies, he reasoned. There were so many ghosts in Amity these days, after all. Most of them weren’t as friendly as Phantom. 

He was just taking off his coat and tie when Phantom knocked on his window. He dropped the jacket and left the tie loose around his neck so he could run over and open it. But he held up his hands. “Don’t come in yet!” Danny whispered. “Let me turn off the ghost alarm.” 

Phantom nodded.

He had to run down to the basement to find it. Dropped something on the way, probably broke it. Oh well. He was in a hurry, he’d deal with that later.

When he got back to his room he waved Phantom in and tried to control his breathing.

But control was uncontrollable. The harder you try, the more you lose.

So he shoved a pillow against his face and panted into it. He groaned.

"Are you okay?" Phantom said.

Danny gave him a thumbs up.

Phantom took his pillow. 

"Just breath, don't fight with it."

Easy for him to say. Danny didn't dignify that with a response.

He just opened his arms.

It surprised him when Phantom hugged him. He thought he'd just toss the pillow back.

That's what Danny had been asking for, but this was nice too. Phantom was cool. Pleasant against the sweat he’d worked up running down and up the stairs.

Danny's breathing went back to normal without him noticing. 

But Phantom noticed and pulled away. He hovered above the bed with his legs crossed.

"Is this the part where I give you my I'm Sorry I Was a Dick speech?" Danny said.

"Sure, then I'll follow it up with my Whoops, Sorry I Stalked You speech," Phantom said. 

With a _straight face_! 

The monster. 

Danny chuckled. "You weren't stalking me." 

"Haunting, stalking, same difference."

"Aw c'mon, it was a perfectly normal human-ghost friendship." Danny wanted to pull Phantom into another hug, but the desire embarrassed him. So he ignored it.

"I popped in on you getting dressed one too many times," Phantom said. "Loitered while you were sleeping. Ignored too many boundaries."

"I would have said something if it bothered me." 

"You did."

"That doesn't count! I was angry."

"Because I crossed the line."

"No, you didn't."

Phantom raised an eyebrow.

"Not _really_ anyway. Just a little?"

"Fenton-"

"Masters was filling my head with creepy theories!” Danny wanted to wring the man’s neck. He mimmed doing so and huffed. “He called you a parasite."

“Maybe I _am_ a parasite,” Phantom murmured. He flickered.

“Oh no you don’t,” Danny said. “Don’t disappear on me again.”

He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Phantom’s shoulders, pulling the ghost onto his bed. “Or if you have to at least stay tangible. I’ll talk to your blanket outline. So stay put!”

Phantom chuckled. “Tangible is easier.” 

But he didn’t disappear. 

He looked kind of adorable, wrapped up in a blanket like that. Phantom pulled it up over his head, wearing it like a hood, and cuddled into the bed. “I missed this room,” he said.

“The room missed you too,” Danny said. “Um, I mean I did. Also.” 

Phantom pulled the blanket over his face. But his legs were sticking out and they were still solidly visible. Progress?

“Hey Phantom, know why you’re not a parasite?” 

The ghost didn’t answer.

“Well, then. I’ll tell you why," Danny stared at Phantom’s boots and took a deep breath. “Because you’re the _real_ Danny Fenton.” 

The boots disappeared.

But the blanket did it’s job, holding up Phantom’s outline. 

And Phantom still said nothing.

Danny cleared his throat. “I said you’re the real-”

“I heard you.” 

Danny huffed and saw his own breath. He shivered and looked around. There was frost on the window. If he didn’t do something there would be icicles on the ceiling or something. Maybe it would snow. 

“Phantom-”

" _You’re_ Danny Fenton,” Phantom said. 

“You were him first.” Danny poked the blanket Phantom was hiding under. “You picked out this space themed blanket.” He pointed at the ceiling. “You put up those glow in the dark stickers.”

“Mom put those up-”

“That’s right!” Danny said. “Your mom did that for you and _you_ remember it! I w-wasn’t there for a-any of that.” 

Danny’s teeth were chattering, it was so cold. He got off the bed to hunt around his closet for his biggest winter coat. He’d just gotten it on when the blanket floated in after him. Like a lazy halloween costume, the blanket waved it’s arms at him.

“Cute,” Danny said. “But you’re blocking my exit.” 

“Sometimes I want nothing more than to trap you,” Phantom said. The blanket drifted forward, arms wrapped around him, and Danny was pushed back through his clothes until he was pinned against the wall. He let himself slide down to sit on the floor. 

The combination of clothes, blanket, and the coat he had on actually made it pretty cozy. He’d never had this many layers surrounding him yet somehow he was still cold.

It was better though. His teeth were no longer chattering. 

“You know it’s actually not so bad.” Danny leaned his head on Phantom’s shoulder. “Being trapped with you, I mean.” 

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not?” 

“If you say that how am I supposed to let you go?” 

“How about you let me go but you can take me back on weekends.” 

“Is this a divorce?” Phantom’s head popped out of the blanket.

“Ah!” Danny glared at him and Phantom just laughed. “Fix yourself, you look like you’ve been decapitated!” 

The ghost was still solid around him, but his neck was intangible. He’d just gone through the blanket instead of looking for an opening. 

“Fix it for me.”

“Then give me back my arms.” With the way Phantom was holding him his arms were pinned to his body. 

Danny could literally feel Phantom’s mood improving. It felt hot. Being bundled in so many layers was no longer cozy. He tried to wriggle out, but Phantom wasn’t budging.

“Pleeeeaaase,” Danny said. “I’m sweating!” 

“Oh, was that the problem?” It felt like Phantom’s limbs disappeared for a second. But then the pressure around Danny returned, cooler. Touching him more directly.

Phantom had phased through the blanket and coat. Now he was _in_ the coat with Danny, draped around him like an over-sized ice pack. 

Still pinning Danny’s arms to his sides. “Uh… Well, that’s an improvement, but-”

“Just a few more minutes,” Phantom murmured. “Then I’ll get out of your hair.” 

“I’ll give you an hour if you let me out of the closet.” 

“Not gonna happen.” Phantom gave Danny another squeeze. “This is my safe space.” 

“What, and I’m your teddy bear?” 

“I shall call you Bearbert and you shall be mine.” 

“Feels like I’m missing a reference.”

“You are.” 

Danny gave up, settling into their little cocoon. 

He almost fell asleep like that. They were just cuddling in silence for a while and it was oddly comfortable. Fluffy and warm, but not too warm. Phantom’s glow was like a nightlight. 

Then Phantom broke the silence. “We can’t both be Danny Fenton.”

“Mmm,” Danny said, nodding. “Then I’ll be Danny Fenton Junior.”

Phantom laughed. “You can’t.”

“Why can’t I?”

“You just can’t.” 

Danny rolled his eyes. “Anyway, that’s not the point.” 

“Then what’s the point?” 

If his arms were free Danny would have tapped his chin and pretended to think. As it was he could only hum for a second. Phantom rocked them impatiently. “What’s the point?”

“Vlad Masters is a poopy head,” Danny said. “That’s the point.” 

“Ah, I see” Phantom said. “And how did you come to this insightful conclusion?”

“Honestly, I wish I’d never met him,” Danny said. “That whole trip was just…”

“Disturbing.”

“Confusing.” 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Phantom said. “If I’m a clone or a parasite or just a… a manifestation of your lost memories?” 

“Such big words.”

“Thanks, I’ve been reading.” 

“Oh. Barf.” 

“I’ve been bored!” 

“Danny Fenton would never step foot in a library,” Danny said.

“Danny Phantom would,” Phantom countered. “He has too much time on his hands.”

“Spend more time with me, then.”

“That can be arranged.”

“But let’s leave dragons out of it from now on.” 

“No promises.” 

And just like that everything was okay again. Better than okay, in fact. Phantom didn’t get “out of his hair” like he said he would, but Danny wasn’t going to hold him to it. 

Though his neck didn’t appreciate waking up in the closet the next morning. Or the way Phantom was still there, just watching him sleep. 

“I take it back, you _are_ a stalker,” Danny said. “Get outta here!”

“But it’s Saturday,” Phantom whined. “Play with me.”

“Noooo. I need to shower. And eat. And do homework!” 

“Do that stuff laaater.” 

“Yeah right.” When Danny got up Phantom didn’t follow. “I’ll see you later?” 

The ghost nodded. 

“For real though. You’ll come back?” 

“Of course.” 

Danny hesitated. 

“Go take a shower, Fenton,” Phantom said. “You’ll see me later.” 

“I’ll see you later,” Danny repeated. This time he said it like a threat.

Phantom laughed and then, after a cheerful wave, vanished. 

Danny decided he’d have to look through his parents inventions again. Maybe he could find a walkie talkie or something. It would give him peace of mind. Maybe Phantom would appreciate it too. 

After his shower Danny realized his phone had died. When he plugged it in to charge there was a barrage of texts from Tucker. And one from Sam:

**2:18 a.m. I’m sorry. About everything.**

He wasn’t sure what she meant. Before he could reply, she sent another text.

**12:54 p.m. Let’s grab lunch. I’ll help you with that history essay, yeah?**

He read through Tucker’s texts before replying. Assuring him that he did not, in fact, get eaten by a dragon. Then to Sam he said:

**12:59 p.m. You don’t want me to invite Tucker**

It wasn’t a question. She replied, **We’ve never been alone together. Since that time.**

 _That time_ being the day Danny opened his eyes to see her crouched over him and crying. Her mascara was running down her face and she kept repeating _you aren’t dead, you aren’t dead!_

It’s his first memory. His introduction to Sam Manson. 

To Danny Fenton’s life. 

**1:42 p.m. I’ll meet you at the Nasty Burger**

**END PART TWO**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think? *puppy dog eyes*
> 
> First chapter of the next part is already out!


End file.
